Operation Warp Speed, the federal program designed to speed up the development of a COVID-19 vaccine, is recruiting volunteers in the Rio Grande Valley.

"Clinical trials occur in places where we think that the outbreak is going to continue," said Dr. Matt Hepburn, the vaccine development lead for Operation Warp Speed. "We of course don't want the outbreak to continue. But we select clinical trial places because people may get sick. And so we're trying to predict or understand where we think this COVID-19 outbreak will continue."

One drug company, Moderna, is already conducting a COVID-19 vaccine trial in the Valley. Pfizer is conducting its own trial. And a third company, Novavax, is also setting up shop in McAllen.

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